Went and looked it over again last night. No rust that I could see. Frame looked good and clean and the rear panels were clean. The only slight rust I saw, was some surface rust on the mufflers. I tried looking at the driveshaft... I saw a grease zerk on the front ujoints. Couldn't tell if there were any others on the other side that I couldn't see. The drive belt didn't show any cracks that I could see. I tried spinning the motor by turning a pulley or two, but, just doing that with my hands was not working. Interior is clean. No signs of water leakage on the headliner or around the sunroofs. No smell of mildew or anything, so that's good. One small area on the headliner where it's starting to sag, but the rest looks pretty good.

I talked to the lady about turning over the motor and what all would be needed to make sure it was oiled before-hand to help protect the internals. She had watched a video on doing the same stuff and said she wasn't interested in doing all that work (that's a plus for me on negotiating). She wants it gone as they are moving out of the country (another plus for me on negotiating). I'm thinking I'll make her a super low offer (under $1000) and see what she says. She knows we've had D2's in the past and it that we really like them, so it would be going to someone that would enjoy it.

My guess, after doing some oil prep and changing fluids, it would probably start up. She said it ran great when she parked it and other than having an exhaust leak patched, and something about the headers, there were not any issues with it. Now, I take that with a grain of salt - she doesn't know anything about vehicles. But, I know enough that I could get it running and getting things fixed on it and enjoy it as a weekend vehicle, offroad toy to have around. IF I can get it for the right price, of course.

 

Exhaust leaks are pretty common, at y-pipe or manifold itself (especially right side).

Good luck with purchase.

 

Well, just to give an update...

With all that had to be done to the vehicle, going through everything, it sitting for so long, the time it would take me to get it going again (plus not really needing another project, but wanting one), I made a super low-ball offer of $500. Way less than what it's worth, but just trying to see if I could get one of those unheard of deals on a vehicle. She didn't go for it. Said that after looking into it, if they can't get close to what they are asking for it, then they will fix everything and get it running again, then try and sell it for more of what a running D2 would be worth.

I told her no problem and that I completely understood. But, if they couldn't get what they are wanting, to let me know and we might be able to work something out. I'll keep my eye on it, as they live just a few houses down from me. Hopefully, I can still get it for a heck of a deal.

 

hopefully it didn't have fuel with ethanol in it. sitting for that long i'd think would cause all kinds of issues with the fuel tank, fuel lines and possibly the injectors.

but you all do have ethanol free premium in Tulsa, so maybe it had the good stuff in it.


Edit: if you do end up getting this Rover or another there is a great shop in Tulsa called O'Brien Performance. they work on a lot of Rovers old and new. the owner still drives a D2. hell, they may have one or two sitting around for sale.

 

I know of O'Brien Performance. I have not used them, or talked to them. But, through the grapevine, I know a few people that have tried to use O'Bien and were severely put off by them and their attitudes. Now, these sources are not "car people" so to speak, so maybe don't understand how things usually work - especially with enthusiasts (so to speak).

 

as with most experiences, YMMV. but they worked on two of my Discoverys, did great work and were not condescending or rude to my wife and my daughter when i couldn't be there drop off or pick up the trucks. the way they were treated meant a lot to me as i have had a few not so great experiences with shops in St. Louis where i live.

regardless, hope you are able to get a good D2 soon. if you can't tell from my Signature lines, i love driving these trucks.

 

That's good to hear! I'm glad you had a good experience with them.

We love them as well. Hopefully, we'll back into one in the future. I want one, and would probably pay what my neighbor is asking - IF I didn't have 2 other projects already ('71 C10 and a '73 F100). Plus, I don't have anywhere else to park my vehicles. I already have 1 car in the street that needs to get sold.

 

Well, to add to my search... I was browsing the good ol' Facebook Marketplace the other day. There are several D2's around, but nothing I've been ready to pull the trigger on, just yet. All of a sudden, I get a message from my cousin (just bought himself a D2). He sent me a link to a listing on Marketplace for a D2. I start scrolling through the pictures and I get to a side view. In the rear window is a Orange/Black Lucky8 sticker. It also has a Wounded Warriors Cruise sticker! OMG! It was our old Disco that got totalled!!! I immediately sent the listing to my wife and told her we are buying it!! Sale price was $1000. I was going to try and get it for $500. The hood and grill had been replaced. The front bumper had been somewhat replaced. Ad stated it still needed work.

I sent a message to the lady that had it listed. No response. Over the next few days, I've sent maybe a dozen messages trying to get in touch with the person to no avail. I start looking a little deeper. The ad has it's location as fairly close to me, but the person listing it is in the next state. Turns out it was fake. The listing is gone now. And, I didn't save any of the pictures, unfortunately. But, somewhere, someone has our old Disco.

 

If you still have the VIN (perhaps from one of the insurance papers that might be in your online account) you can run the Carfax and see if it’s still actually registered or on the road. Not sure what the OK laws are about inspections (if you don’t need them then seeing nothing would be expected), but at least in MA, the annual inspection will always show up.

Pro tip: check eBay for someone selling carfax checks. You can buy them for like $5 instead of $40 from the Carfax site - send the VIN and then they’ll email you the PDF within a few hours.